The Dreamer and the Gnome
by Elizabeth Stargazer
Summary: When a young teen finds herself in a world that doesn't exist she's going to need the help of Robin, the Wise-Cracking Cynical Gnome, to help her escape and find her kidnapped friend...but what happens when she finds herself in love? (Please R&R)
1. The Overnight

Disclaimer: Not all that is written are my own ideas ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The Dreamer and the Gnome  
By Elizabeth Stargazer  
  
Overnight  
  
"Oh how I dream of the day I shall fall in love!" Dawn sighed and flopped down upon the air mattress, which wobbled like jello.  
  
Kathryn half smiled, unbraiding her long dark hair, "Yes.but with such selection at your school I should say that chances are rather slim."  
  
Dawn burst into uproarious laughter at the thought of marring one of the idiots from her school. Rolling onto her side she reached for her bag of Lemon Heads and popped one of the small candies into her mouth, savoring the shocking taste.  
"He would, of course, have to be totally hot."  
  
Kathryn grimaced at the word, never being found of calling a guy "hot".  
  
"What are you thinkin' of, Katie? What kind of man would you go for?"  
  
Kathryn smiled, brushing her hair, "I fear, Dawn, that our tastes are very much different. He would be very handsome, kind and gentle with eyes like the sea."  
  
Dawn made a rude noise deep in her throat and then grinned wolfishly. "You and you're 'dream men'!"  
  
Kathryn shrugged and set down her brush, flipping her hair behind her. She sighed and smiled shaking her head. Sitting on her bed she gazed out into the dark woods, "He's out there somewhere Dawn. Perhaps he's thinking of me now."  
  
Later that night Kathryn awoke with a start. She lay still, listening and trying to figure out what had startled her out of sleep. She heard a footfall downstairs, then a pause. Her heart began to pound.  
CREAK!  
Someone was coming up the stairs! She was shaking now and swallowed several times, trying to get enough courage to warn her friend, Dawn, who was soundly sleeping on the air mattress.  
Gathering her wits she slide silently from her bed, her nightgown swishing slightly. Closing the door and locking it, Kathryn unsheathed her great grandfather's sword. It was rusty and not meant for combat but she felt slightly safer with a weapon though she knew not how to use it.  
CREAK! CREAK! Holding the sword before her she hurried to Dawn's side.  
  
"Dawn!" she hissed, no response. She knelt down and shook her friend.  
"Dawn, please! Wake up!"  
  
A hand shot forth and grabbed Kathryn's arm. She screamed and tried to pull away. At that moment the door to her room burst open and something hard clubbed the back of her neck and she knew no more. 


	2. We're Not In Kansas

Chapter 2: "I'm not in Kansas" 

       The world was dark and filled with pain.  Kathryn groaned and slowly opened her eyes.  She blinked, unsure she had actually opened her eyes since her surroundings were just as dark.

                        "Where am I?" she mumbled to the darkness.

                        "In a place you don't want to be." The voice was hard and as cold as the stone floor she was laying on.

            Kathryn raised herself onto her knees and winced.  There was a fierce pain in her head.  She felt the back of her head gingerly and was greeted by a finding a lump.  She looked about, trying to find who had spoken.  She heard the sound of flint meeting steel and a spark started.  Her eyes watered as a torch was lit.

            A man in a navy blue uniform, adorned with golden trim, looked at her, his face showing no expression.

                        "Who are you, general?"

            The man actually half smiled. "I am not a general, merely an officer.  My name is Steven."

                        "Where am I, sir?"

            Officer Steven seemed to warm up a little, "I'm sorry to say that you are in the Castle of Morgettson."  He paused, studying her. "You're not from here are you?"

                        "That depends on where here is!  Wait………where's Dawn?"

            The officer's smile vanished and he looked uneasy. "So you're the girl they captured.  I was afraid of that.  Milady, you are in the world known as Lemeere."

            She looked startled, "W-what?  I've never heard of----"

                        "Few have.  Only those born here or unfortunate to fall under the wrath of Lord Morgettson know this world."

                        "But why am I here?  I don't even know who this Lord Morgeterson is!"

                        "Lord Morge_ttson_!"

                        "sorry."

                        "Milady the only fault you have is being the one the Seer has seen."

            Before she could get in another question she heard the sound of heavy footfalls and became afraid.  The Officer straightened, his face bleak.  

                        "Officer Steven!  Has she awakened?"

                        "Yes Captain!"

                        "Good."

            A tall man stepped into the torchlight.  His hair was midnight black, which matched his uniform.  He wore an elegant cape, which flowed with even the slightest breeze.

            Kathryn looked at him oddly for despite the strange markings on his uniform symbolizing his rank, he looked very much like a vampire. 

                        "GIRL!  I command you to hand over the crystal now!"

            Kathryn stared at him blankly, "But I haven't got a crystal.  What are you talking about."

            He slapped the side of her face.

                        "You will learn to speak civil in the presence of a Captain!  Officer, take her to the dungeon, perhaps a few days with out drink or food will make her more cooperative."

                        "Yessir!"  Steven moved towards her and hauled her roughly up, escorting her down the dark corridor where no light shown.

Oooo!  The plot thickens!  Stay tuned for more!


	3. Cellmate

Chapter 3: Cellmate 

The sun's first light brought new warmth to the world, but in the castle of Lord Morgettson, in the darkest cell, the sun brought little comfort or warmth.  No light shown from the outside world for there was no window.  The walls of the cell dripped moister, and the occasional scurry of little feet reminded the prisoner of the rats. 

Kathryn rose and paced the cell with the iron clasps about her ankles and wrists; they seemed to grow heavier with time.  Fifteen paces, whichever way she went-from door to wall, or from wall to wall, it was always fifteen paces. She had passed it many times as the slow days turned into weeks.  She stood in the shaft of weak sunlight, trying not to think of the world of blue skies and flowers outside.

     "Get the little devil in there quick.  It'll be less trouble to feed two at once. Ouch, my shin!" Lost in thought, Kathryn had failed to hear the approach of guards bringing a prisoner to her cell door.

                 "Aargh, leggo my ear, you fiend.  Hurry up with that door before he bites my lug clean off."

     "Ouch.  Ow!  He nipped me!  Keep him still while I find my key."

There was more shouting and scuffling as the key turned in the lock.  Kathryn ran to the door but was immediately bowled over by another figure, which shot through the doorway straight in on top of her.  Together they fell backward, as the cell door slammed shut again.  The two prisoners lay still until the heavy footsteps of the guards retreated down the corridor.

Kathryn moved gingerly, easing aside the body that had fallen on top of her.  It giggled.  She pulled her cellmate into the shaft of sunlight where she could view him more clearly.  Kathryn gasped in surprise.  He was a short tubby man with laughing eyes and broad smile.  His cloths were leaf-like and his beard was the color of bark.

The little man winked broadly at her, played at short jig on his reed flute he produced from his cloak, then began singing,

                        _I knew a girl in prison here,_

_                        More than a hundred years._

_                        Her hair grew along the ground,_

_                        And right back to her ears._

_                        Her eyes grew dim, her teeth fell out,_

_                        Her hair turned silver-gray._

_                        "If my granddad were here," she said,_

_                        "I wonder what he'd say?"_

      Kathryn leaned against the wall.  She could not help smiling at her odd little cellmate.

     "Silly, how could the grandfather of a hundred-year-old girl say anything?  Sorry, my name's Kathryn Haskin.  What's yours?"

The little man extended his right hand. "Miss Kathryn!  A pleasure to meet you!  My name is Robin, a Gnome by chance.  At your service milady!"

Kathryn shook Robin's hand warmly.  "Robin the Gnome!  You could be the King of the Sky, as long as I've got a cellmate to speak to.  What did they throw you in here for?"

  They sat down together on the straw, which had been tossed in one corner of the cell.

     "Well lass, I wasn't intending on being caught.  I heard about two Earth girls who had been taken a few nights before and was a bit too curious I suppose."  

            "Is there no way out of here?  I must find Dawn!"

Robin sat back eyeing her oddly and chewed on a piece of straw.

            "What I don't understand is your speech."

            "What?"

            "Don't be daft.  You speak unlike your kind.  I do not understand this.  You speak as those of five generations ago.  There is something about you…something that is different…"

Kathryn gnawed on her lip feeling uncomfortable under his stare.

            "You don't believe me?"

            "No, in truth I can't see that I am so different aside from my accent."

Robin chuckled and his eyes glittered with laughter. "Look at me, lass!  Look how easily you, from a world of reality, have accepted my being a Gnome.  Gnomes aren't supposed to exist are they?"

            "No…but I've always loved fairy tales. And longed to see…I mean I always believed that there was a slight chance they may be real."

Robin shrugged, "Well enough riddles."  He stretched and yawned, "So, I suppose the next thing to do is escape."

            "Escape?!" 

Robin covered her mouth quickly. "Hush lass!  Yes, we can't stay here and you're friend may be in danger."  He removed his hand and leaned back against the wall. "What did that old cat want with you anyway."

Kathryn shrugged, "I don't really know.  The Captain came and demanded I hand over a crystal…but I don't have one."

            "Oh then that must be a plastic trinket you wear about your neck."

Kathryn's hand flew to her neck where she found a silver chain upon which hung a small crystal.  She had forgotten she had worn it when Dawn had spent the night and she had never taken it off.

            "This?  My grandmother gave it to me before she died.  True enough it is a crystal but why would this mean any more to this Lord than a simple heirloom?"

Robin slid his hand down his beard, "Why indeed.  Perhaps there is still more than has been revealed."

Kathryn opened her mouth than shook her head, "Well, whatever the case may be how do we escape?"

"Well lass, the first thing we do is get some sleep."  With that he stretched out on the straw and was instantly fast asleep.


	4. Escape

Chapter 4: Escape  
  
Robin stirred, the voices of two guards talking quietly outside the cell, came to him. He moved silently and pressed his ear against the wooden door.  
  
"...not long now...times have changed."  
  
"...but the girl?"  
  
"Kathryn...killed..."  
  
Robin frowned. "Kill Kathryn? Not while I'm here...not yet." Thought he. He rummaged in two small bags at his waist. Suddenly he smiled and pulled his hand out, "This could be interesting." He set to work quickly, rubbing a strange powder over the lock.  
  
Close to an hour later Kathryn felt someone shaking her.  
  
"Robin? What is it?"  
  
"Rise and shine Miss Kathryn, or you'll be late for our escape."   
  
Robin scurried over to the door and pushed with all his might.  
  
"Lend a hand lass!"  
  
Kathryn quickly came to his side pushed against the door. The lock sizzled from the strange powder and broke. Suddenly the door swung open, and they both tumbled in a heap out into the passage. Robin laughed as though it were all a great game.  
  
Kathryn clapped a hand across Robin's mouth. "Ssshhh! You'll have the guards coming down to check on the din."  
  
Robin grinned and shut the door, cramming odds and ends of things in the keyhole. He stepped back, viewed his work, nodded and darted down the hallway.  
  
They reached the end of the passage and mounted the stairs. Robin was panting slightly, but refused to pause and catch his breath. The stairs were built in a spiral. At the top was a wooden door. Robin silently pushed open the door. The coast was clear. They stepped out into a broad hallway which stretched away to the left and right of them.  
  
Kathryn looked down the one leading left then the one leading right.  
  
"Anything look familiar?" asked he out of breath.  
  
"Y-yes...the left passage, that's the way they took me...come on!"  
  
Continuing down the hallway, the steps took a turn and they found themselves in a smaller hall with a door at either end. The sound of two guards talking could be heard. They froze. "I don't see what the big deal is? I mean why did we have to move that other girl all the way to Mystringel?"  
  
The escapers backed down onto the stairway they had just ascended, the echoes of the guards all around them as they ran round the turn of the steps.  
  
Kathryn and Robin crashed straight into Officer Steven, the Captain and two others, who had unknowingly been walking up the stairs behind them!  
  
It would have been hard to tell who was more surprised, the escaping prisoners or the Officer and Captain and the two guards.  
  
Immediately they collided, the Captain cried out in surprise and more by luck than judgment seized Robin's arm. This was followed by another cry as Robin grabbed his dagger with his other hand and stabbed the Captain sharply in the hand, forcing him to release his grip.  
  
"Follow me!" cried Robin and, tripping the Officer, ran back up the stairs. The Officer and Captain collided with the other to and they fell to the floor in a jumble. The Captain struggled to extricate himself, screaming curses.  
  
"Blockheads, idiots, out of my way!"  
  
Kathryn and Robin dashed headlong down the hall. Taking the door to the right, they dived inside, slamming it shut behind them.  
  
It was a guest room of some sort and very beautiful. Robin jumped on to the windowsill and gave a high whistle. From the forest to the north two brown horses came. Robin glanced back at Kathryn, "I hope you're good at aiming, lass or else this is really going to hurt! Ready...JUMP!" 


End file.
